Palaeospheniscus bergi

Palaeospheniscus bergi
Temporal range: Early-Mid Miocene (Colloncuran-Laventan)
~15.97–11.6 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Palaeospheniscus
Species:
P. bergi
Binomial name
Palaeospheniscus bergi
Moreno & Mercerat 1891
Synonyms

See text

Palaeospheniscus bergi is a species of the extinct penguin genus Palaeospheniscus.[1] It stood about 60 to 75 centimetres (24 to 30 in) high in life, or somewhat smaller on average than the extant African penguin.

Etymology

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The species is named for Carlos Berg, a member of the La Plata Museum of Natural Sciences staff at the time when Moreno worked there.

Description

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Many bones referrable to this species have been recovered from the Early to Middle Miocene Gaiman and Puerto Madryn Formations and the El Foyel Group.[1] Known localities are Trelew in Chubut Province and Puerto San Julián in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.

Some recent researchers have considered Palaeospheniscus gracilis to be a synonym for this species.[2]

Taxonomy

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Bones of this species were described as no less than 6 "species" (including the correct one) from 3 "genera" by Florentino Ameghino in a single publication. The synonyms are as follows:

  • Palaeospheniscus bergii (lapsus) Ameghino, 1891
  • Paraspheniscus bergi Ameghino, 1905
  • Palaeospheniscus planus Ameghino, 1905
  • Palaeospheniscus rothi Ameghino, 1905
  • Pseudospheniscus interplanus Ameghino, 1905
  • Pseudospheniscus planus Ameghino, 1905
  • Pseudospheniscus concavus Ameghino, 1905
  • Pseudospheniscus convexus Ameghino, 1905

Either Pseudospheniscus interplanus or P. planus, as well as either Pseudospheniscus concavus or P. convexus, are a lapsus too.

References

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  1. ^ a b Palaeospheniscus bergi at Fossilworks.org
  2. ^ Dyke, Gareth; Kaiser, Gary, eds. (2011). Living Dinosaurs: The Evolutionary History of Modern Birds. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-470-65666-2.

Further reading

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  • Ameghino, Florentino (1905): Enumeracion de los impennes fósiles de Patagonia y de la Isla Seymour. An. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires 3(6): 97-167, 4 figures, 8 plates.
  • Moreno, Francisco "Perito" & Mercerat, A. (1891): Catálogo de los pájaros fósiles de la República Argentina conservados en el Museo de La Plata. Anales del Museo de La Plata 1: 7-71, 21 plates.
  • Simpson, George Gaylord (1946): Fossil penguins. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 87: 7-99. PDF fulltext
  • Simpson, George Gaylord (1971): Conspectus of Patagonian fossil penguins. American Museum Novitates 2488: 1-37. PDF fulltext